


The Birth of the Covenant

by The Wildehopps Protection Agency (WHPA)



Series: The Covenant [1]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M, Gideon's a worse psycho than Hitler, Probably the most serious fanfic series I've ever written, Rated M for Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-07-25
Packaged: 2019-06-16 03:10:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 6,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15427743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WHPA/pseuds/The%20Wildehopps%20Protection%20Agency
Summary: The ending that's been done a million times... with a twist.





	1. Judy's Death?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Js_Mindscape](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Js_Mindscape/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Bad End (Zootopia Alternate Ending)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12327108) by [Js_Mindscape](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Js_Mindscape/pseuds/Js_Mindscape). 
  * Inspired by [The Zootopian Chronicles I: Earth](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8205896) by [Menser](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Menser/pseuds/Menser). 



> So... here's another story that's basically a copy-and-paste from Pastel_and_Gore's story, Bad End (Zootopia alternate ending). I got their permission to post it. It changes drastically from the original during the fourth chapter.

## Date: March 4, 2016

## Time: 12:00 P.M. ZT (Zootopia Time)

## Location: Zootopia Museum of Natural History

“Bye, bye, bunny!” Dawn Bellwether cackled sinisterly as Nick Wilde cornered his friend, Judy Hopps, as she pleaded for her life, completely helpless.

He lunged at her, biting her neck, as the bunny screamed in anguish. He shook her around until a loud “CRACK!” was heard. Blood covered his muzzle and Judy, she was killed by her best friend.

Dawn chuckled again. “Ooh! Yes! I win again! And to prove it, well, just look right here!”

She pointed her hooves at the bloody scene of betrayal, admiring it.

“Not so fast, Ms. Bellwether!” A deep and familiar voice exclaimed.

She quickly turned around, her jaw dropping. “Huh?!”

The sheep was surrounded by the ZPD, including Chief Bogo, two of the police officers grabbing and handcuffing her.

“No! No! You can't do this!” Dawn cried in desperation.

“Dawn Bellwether, you are under arrest for terrorism, hate crimes…” the chief continued to list off her crimes and criminal rights.

The rest of the officers ran down to tackle Nick off of Judy, then strapped a muzzle on his face, as the fox tried to fight back against the cops ten times his size.

“Get a paramedic, immediately!” One called, referring to Judy, who was already dead.

Then, one police officer noticed a carrot-shaped pen fall out of Judy’s pocket.

 

_“I learned two things that day,” Nick concluded his story, staring at the ground they were hovering over, him showing an emotion he hadn't shown anyone in a good while: Sadness. “One: I was never gonna let anyone see that they got to me.”_

_“And two?” Judy asked, begging him to continue._

_“If the world's only gonna see a fox as shady and untrustworthy,” he continued, his voice slightly shaky. “There's no point in trying to be anything else.”_

_“Nick, you are so much more than that,” she comforted, placing her paw on his arm._

_He glances at her and pulls away. “Boy, look at the traffic down there.” He changed the subject._

 

“Former Mayor Dawn Bellwether is behind bars today,” Fabienne Growley reported on ZNN. The screen showed a video of the sheep in custody being guided by a bunch of officers though a mob of photographers. “Guilty of masterminding the horrible attacks that have plagued Zootopia as of late, along with the murder of the hero of our story, Judy Hopps, using a hitmammal to do so.”

The next picture was a selfie Judy took in her police uniform, cheerful and hopeful, just how she always was, no matter how difficult things got.

“The former mayor, Leodore Lionheart,” Peter Moosebridge continued the story. “Denies any knowledge of her plan, continuing to claim he was trying to protect the city.”

The program switched to the ex-mayor in prison. “Did I falsely imprison those animals? Well, y-yes, I did. But it was a "doing the wrong thing for the ‘right reason’ kind of a deal.”

The news then switched back to Fabienne and Peter.

“In related news,” Fabienne continued. “Doctors say the Night Howler antidote is effective in recovering the afflicted predators.”


	2. Nick

## Date: March 18, 2016

## Time: 9:00 A.M. ZT

## Location: Zootopia General Hospital

Nick Wilde groggily woke up in the hospital, after slowly blinking once or twice, he realized he was alone, with no recollection of what happened.

Conveniently, though, a pig nurse walked through the door, carrying a tray of medical tools and utensils, and once she realized he was awake, her eyes widened in surprise.

“Oh! You're awake!” She exclaimed, hurriedly walking over to his side with the tray. “How are you feeling, Mr. Wilde?”

“Like I just got ran over by a stampede,” he rubbed his head and groaned. “What happened?”

She looked down at the floor, suddenly becoming saddened and anxious. “Mr. Wilde… Do you remember anything before you woke up here?”

“I remember that I was with Judy and we were trapped in a dome-like thing,” he looked up to the ceiling as if trying to see if there were any answers in the plain, white ceiling. “I think there was a sheep with glasses and-” he stopped himself.

“Mr. Wilde?” She called, even more worried than she was before she asked the question.

“All I remember is red,” the fox stated.

He felt his fur on his face become damp, he placed a paw on his face, he was crying?

“It's okay, Mr. Wilde,” she comforted, placing a hoof on his arm while looking him in the eyes, “We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to.”

“N-no,” Nick stuttered as he glanced over at her and pulled away. “It's just…”

The gesture made him suddenly remember someone, then grabbed the nurse’s shoulders. “Where's Judy?” He asked firmly.

The nurse was startled by the question, but then looked back down at the ground, her concerned and comforting look turning into a sad one.

“Answer me, please!” He cried, his voice cracking due to his sobs.

“Mr. Wilde,” she continued hesitantly. “Dawn Bellwether shot you with Nighthowler, you attacked Judy, she…she didn't make it.”

Nick’s heart shattered. He let go of the nurse’s shoulders and laid back down, his face devoid of any emotion.

“Mr. Wilde?” She called once again. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I just,” the fox trailed off for a second. “I just need to be alone right now.”

“Yes, sir,” the pig nodded her head and walked out of the room, along with the tray of tools.

After she left, Nick began to fully sob, covering his face with his paws, as tears fell down his fluffy face.

“Judy,” he called, hoping that she would maybe hear him. “I'm so sorry.”

He killed his best friend, if not his only friend. How could he had been so careless as to let the Nighthowler gun be loaded? He had blueberries, why didn't he replace them with the blueberries he had?

They were right, he was just a dumb, untrustworthy fox, that's all he’ll ever be.

Suddenly, there was a small knock at the door, Nick quickly wiped his tears away and cleared his throat. “C-come in,” he stuttered. Real smooth, Nick.

“Excuse me,” an otter with a blue sweater entered the hospital room. “You're Nick Wilde, right?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Nick answered.

“Well, I'm Mrs. Otterton,” she continued. “Wife of Emmitt Otterton, you were on his case with Judy Hopps?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied.

“Well, you saved my husband’s life,” she stated, stepping forward. “I would like to formally thank you for that.”

“Oh, please,” the fox tried to stop her right there. “I'm not the one who saved him. Carrots, I mean, Ms. Judy is. She's the one who cracked open the case, I was just the one who took her places and gave her tips, I really didn't do much at all. If anything I-” he sighed. “I ruined everything.”

“But, sir,” she defended. “If you weren't there assisting her, she would've never gotten as far as she did.”

“She also would still be alive right now,” he mumbled.

“I'm sorry?” She questioned, she didn't hear him.

“She also would still be alive right now,” he repeated, shaking his head. “I, um… Thank you for coming here, you didn't have to. And, uh, you're welcome for helping to find your husband.”

“No problem, sir,” she nodded with a gentle smile. “I was already here since my husband is, he woke up earlier, he told me to thank you.”

“Well, tell him I said it was no problem,” he said.

“Yes, sir,” she nodded again. “Thank you, again.”

He nodded.

“By the way, what do you mean by ‘She also would still be alive right now’?”

“What I meant was... Bellwether shot me with Nighthowler... Judy was with me... I attacked her and... I... I killed her. She was my only friend other than Finnick.”

“Oh, I am so sorry to hear that. Is there anything I could do?”

“No,” Nick replied.


	3. The Letter

## Date: 5/27/2017

## Time: 8:00 P.M. ZT

## Location: Bunnyburrow Cemetery

Nick carried a large bouquet of assorted flowers in his paws as he walked up a steep hill, finally getting the courage to visit his friend. Finally up the grassy hill, he stood in front of a small tombstone of the friend he was visiting.

The tombstone simply had her name, Judith Laverne Hopps, engraved, along with her birth and death year, 1992-2016, and her favorite song, Try Everything, underneath it.

He placed the flowers at the bottom foot of the grave, then sat in front of the grave afterwards. “Hey, Judy,” he greeted with a small smile.

“It's, uh, been a while, hasn't it?” He forcefully pushed a chuckle. “Well, it’s only been a year, but still…I guess that's a long while to talk to a friend.”

He paused.

“I guess you're kinda wondering what's been going on,” he scratched the back of his neck but then returned his gaze to her grave. “Well, your parents finally understand what fully went on and don't exactly blame me for anything, so…I guess that's good.”

“Oh!” He remembered something. “I'm a cop now,” he stated, pulling out his badge and placing it in front of her tombstone, as if placing it in her hand.

“Though, I think everyone is paranoid about me, which I guess is fair.” He picked the badge back up and began putting it back in his shirt pocket.

He looked at the ground beneath him. “You know, there's not a day that goes by where I don't think about it. It's like someone is pushing a rewind and play button in my head of that same scene.”

He looked back at the tombstone, tears falling down his face. “Every day is torture and it's all my fault, if I hadn't been so negligent and small-minded you would still be here.”

“You were right,” the fox wiped away few tears with his arm. “I am a dumb fox.”

“Nick?” A familiar voice called. “Nick, is that you?”

Nick slowly turned around, blinking away his tears. Only able to see a silhouette because of the bright sun setting behind her, he could only make out a small frame, tall ears…

There's no way. “Judy?”

“Uh, no,” the silhouette corrected, the sun now fully set, he could now see that her fur was a deep brown color with white feet and paws. “I'm one her sisters. My name is Violet. You're Nick Wilde, correct?”

“Yeah,” he answered, disappointed. What did he expect? “Why do you ask?”

“One reason is that I was curious why some random fox was at my sister’s grave,” she joked, slightly chuckling to herself, but then turned serious. “The main reason is I wanted to ask a few questions as to why you're here and not saving the world like she would want you to?”

The fox was caught off guard by the question. “I, uh,” he cleared his throat. “I think I should visit my friend once in a while, don't you think?”

“Maybe so, but,” she replied. “Shouldn't you be at work right now?”

“No, I'm off-duty,” he answered, getting a tab bit annoyed at the rabbit. “Anyway, why is it any of your business?”

“Did you ever read her will?” The rabbit asked.

“I didn’t even know she had a will,” he replied. How did he not know about this?

“Before she went on this mission, she wrote a will,” she began, taking a folded up piece of paper from her pocket. “It included a letter for you.”

She presented the letter to him and he took it from her paws.

“I’ll leave you alone now, I’ve done my part,” she began to walk away.

“Wait,” he called, causing her to turn towards him. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” she smiled a bit, but then walked away.

He unfolded the paper and began to read it.

“Hey, Nick,

I guess if you’re reading this, I’m not around. I’m going to assume that you’re reading this because you are sad about my death. My sister was instructed to give this letter to you if she saw you again, whether if it was at my funeral or my grave. I don’t know where you’re at now or even how we were as friends, but I just wanted to tell you a few things.

I’m sorry for what I said, I know I’ve probably told you that already, but I really mean it, Nick. I don’t know if you’ve forgiven me or not, but I know this letter was given to you for a reason. My sister has a good intuition and I don’t think she’d just give this letter to you unless she thought you had forgiven me or were genuinely mourning. In that case, I just want to say I’m sorry I’m not here right now. If I could, I’d hug you right now. I only said what I said because I was attacked as a kit by a fox named Gideon Grey. He stole a couple of my friends’ tickets, so I got them back, but at a cost. His wrath. But, that’s beside the point.

The point is, I think I should tell you to do something because I don’t know how you reacted, maybe you’re doing well and you don’t need this advice, but I’ll tell you just in case. Move on. Let me go. Don’t forget me, mourn for a bit, but please move on. It wasn’t your fault. It was Bellwether’s fault. She turned you to savagery.” There was something off about that part, but Nick couldn’t put his finger on it. He continued reading, “I love you and care about you and always will. You are a wonderful mammal and I don’t want you to ever forget that. So I will conclude on this: Continue making this world a better place for everyone, predators and prey.

Signing off for the second time,

Judy Hopps

P.S. Don’t be dumb, be sly.”


	4. The letter part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I got a prediction, it was close but not quite. This is what really happened.

## Date: 5/27/2017

## Time: 8:05 P.M. ZT

## Location: Bunnyburrow Cemetery

“And I mean it,” a voice behind Nick said, startling him.

He looked up. “Judy?” he asked, though it was probably her sister again.

“In the flesh,” the voice said.

“No. Way. There is no way this is happening,” he said, turning around to see…“ **_JUDY!!_ ** ” he screamed, running towards her, both laughing and crying at the same time. She just opened her arms and let Nick lift her up, spinning, laughing, sobbing, and just overall overjoyed. “Oh-oh-oh-oh,” he cried, stroking her ears, kissing her all over, still laughing. “Pinch me! Please! I want to know if this is real!” Nick excitedly yelled. He then put her down and pinched himself.

“Yow!” he exclaimed. A huge smile played across his face, as he realised what the pain meant: “I-I’m not dreaming,” he said.

“No, you’re not,” Judy said, then lowered her voice to a whisper, “Only you, the doctors at Zootopia General Hospital, and my neighbors and landlord at the Grand Pangolin Arms apartment complex know that I’m alive, and I’d like to keep it that way. So please, tell no one, including my family. Except Chief Bogo, you can tell him.”

“I thought the doctors said you were dead,” Nick said.

“I told them to say that,” Judy explained.

“Why?” Nick asked.

She lowered her voice to a whisper again, a worried look in her eyes. “You read the letter, right? Including the part about Gideon?”

“The asshole who assaulted you as a kit? Yeah, why?”

She looked over her shoulder, “We should go somewhere safer. I really don’t like being out in the open,” she whispered.

“Okay,” he shrugged. _What’s gotten into her?_ he wondered.

Judy dragged him to his cruiser, where she explained her plight: “Gideon’s out to kill me.”

“How do you know?” Nick asked.

“This,” she unfolded a piece of paper and handed it to Nick. On it was a note: “You really don’t know when to quit. Guess I’ll have to make you quit myself, even if that means killing you.”

“When did you get this?” Nick quizzed Judy.

“During my stay in Bunnyburrow when you were mad at me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Nick asked.

“Because you can get a little…overprotective at times,” Judy explained.

“I only want my bunny feeling as safe as possible.”

“I’m your bunny? I like that,” Judy said, nuzzling herself under Nick’s arm.

“So do I,” Nick said, starting the cruiser.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was unexpected, wasn't it?


	5. Judy

##  Date: 5/28/2017

##  Time: 7:30 A.M. ZT

##  Location: ZPD Precinct One

The next day, Nick strode into the ZPD, chipper as ever. There was even a little bounce in his step! Yes, Nick was very excited to have Judy back in his life. Even better, thanks to Nick’s slip up about Judy being “his bunny,” the two were now dating.

“Hello, Ben!” Nick greeted to Officer Benjamin Clawhauser.

“Hello, Nick. You seem happy all of a sudden,” Ben replied with a giggle.

“I’m very happy, though I’ve been sworn to secrecy as to why,” Nick explained.

“Is Judy back??” Claw asked.

“Uhhh…no,” Nick said, feeling guilty at lying to Benjamin through his teeth. But, being an ex-con, his guilt didn’t show.

“Oh,” A disappointed Ben said, as Nick strode into the bullpen.

“Nick? Are you okay?” Bogo asked as Nick entered the bullpen.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I’m perfect!” he exclaimed.

“You’re sure that no alien has taken over your body?”

“I’m sure.”

“Not gonna commit suicide?”

“Bogo, I’m fine.”

“Then  _ why _ are you so  _ happy _ ? After a year of depression, it’s just not normal.”

“Can we talk in your office? It’s a rather…delicate topic,” Nick said.

“Sure,” Bogo answered.

When they got there, Nick shut the door and said, “She’s back.”

“Who’s back?”

“Judy. She’s alive.”

“You’re in denial.”

“No, look, I have her current number programmed into my contacts. Call her if you don’t believe me.”

Bogo took Nick’s phone and called Judy’s number. She picked up on the first ring.

“Nick?”

“Nope, it’s Bogo. I hear you’re still alive. Is that true?” Bogo joked. Nick could practically hear Judy’s eyes roll through the phone.

“You’ve been hanging around Nick too long,” an exasperated Judy said.

“Obviously.”

“I want you to tell no one that I’m alive. I don’t want this getting to the public. Or my family. If it does, my life will be in more danger than it already is.”

“How? And why a secret from your own family?” Bogo wondered.

“To answer your second question first, they can’t know. If I tell them, they will be in the same danger I’m in.”

“How?” Bogo asked.

“Someone who bullied me as a child now wants me dead. His name is Gideon Grey. Guess he never wanted me to be a cop. Oh-shit.”

“What?” Bogo asked.

“He knows that I’m alive and where I live. I just walked into my apartment and saw a note he left. It says: ‘Judy, I saw you with another fox today. Your death may have fooled everyone, but it didn’t fool me.’ And the word ‘death’ is in quotes. Judging from the wording, I received it yesterday,” Judy explained with a shaky voice.

“Do you still want it a secret?”

“Yes. But no longer from my parents. Don’t tell anyone but my parents. Actually, I’ll tell my parents. They’ll decide whether to tell the rest of my family. By the way, can I talk to Nick?” she asked.

“Sure,” Bogo said, handing the phone to Nick.

“Nick here,” Nick said in a serious tone.

“Nick, I-I…I don’t know what to do! He knows where I live!”  Judy said, descending into hysterics.

“Judy, you need to calm down,” he said, then continued: “I want you to stay at my place until we find Gideon. I  _ will _ protect you. No matter what.”

“You don’t understand,” she said, on the verge of tears. “Gideon is a sociopath. In fact, his craziness would scare Zoodolf Hitler shitless, because he not only wants to enslave and kill all prey, he wants to fucking use them as a fucking food source!”

“Holy shit! Seriously?!” Nick exclaimed.

“Yes,” she sobbed.

“Okay, meet me at your place, we’ll make plans to get you out of the country asap. And if this Gideon Grey so much as lays a strand of fur on you, you have my personal permission to kill him. Actually kill him in the most literal sense of the word, because if you don’t, I will. Also, I’m sorry I went savage on you. I’m sure it must’ve given you some PTSD. And, if it did, I’m really sorry that happened.”

“Nick, don’t apologize. I wanted you to go savage. It made my death more realistic. Besides, I wanted to die. At least it would’ve been a quicker death than if Gideon found me.”

“Wow, Jude, that’s deep. And depressing. Listen, I’ll make sure Gideon never finds you,’” Nick assured her.

“Can you make me go missing?” she asked hopefully.

“Yes, I can.” Nick replied.

“Good,” Judy said, then she hung up the phone.

“Well, that’s settled,” Nick said, “Now, if you excuse me, I have a beautiful bunny to protect,” he finished, walking out of Bogo’s office.

“Nick,” Bogo said, causing Nick’s ears to go up and him to stop.

“Yes?” he asked, nervous that he was gonna get reprimanded for telling Judy that she could kill Gideon.

“Thank you for protecting her. And I will talk to the mayor and see about her pardoning you and/or Judy for the eventual death of Gideon. I heard that conversation. She is in serious danger, for that mammal is a maniac. I should know. He slaughtered my family.” This prompted Nick to turn around. “Oh, I still have nightmares about that day,” Bogo finished, rubbing his temples.

“Seriously?” Nick asked.

“Yes. Now go. Protect her at all costs. In fact, make her and her family’s safety your number one priority. Nothing else matters,” Bogo said.

“I will. And your right about her safety. She is, after all, my first love,” Nick replied.

Now it was Bogo’s turn to ask “Seriously?” but Nick was already out the door.

“How the hell does he do that?” Bogo wondered.


	6. Getaway

## Date: 5/28/2017

## Time: 7:35 A.M. ZT

## Location: Judy’s apartment complex

Two minutes after the conversation, Nick arrived at Judy’s apartment complex. Normally it would be a ten minute drive, but he had his flashers and siren on and was going full speed. And when he did arrive, he asked the landlord, Dharma Armadillo, for Judy’s apartment number. She, of course, refused.

“Please, come on! Her life is in danger. Can you at least tell her that Nicholas Piberius Wilde is here?”

“No, I told you, she’s dead.”

“Please? I also go by Nick, if that helps.”

“Wait- you can’t be Nick! I thought she said that you were her boyfriend. But you’re a fox!”

“I’m a fox that loves her very much,” Nick explained.

“Okay, I’ll call her.” She picked up the phone, and dialed a number.

“Yes?” The phone asked. Nick recognized the shaky voice as Judy’s.

“There’s a fox that’s claiming to be Nick Wilde here,” Dharma said.

“Okay, send him over.”

“You’re sure?” Dharma asked with genuine worry.

“Yup.”

“Okay.” The armadillo hung up the phone and gave Nick the room keys, after which Nick bolted to Judy’s apartment. Then, after reaching Judy’s apartment, he knocked on her door…and received no answer. He unlocked the door to find a petrified Judy sitting on her bed. Her eyes were wide as saucers, her knees were tucked up under her chin, her ears were flat against her back, and her whole body was shaking like a leaf.

“Nick?” She asked, voice shaking.

“Oh, Judy, I really hate seeing you like this,” Nick said sadly, walking up to her. “Do you want to talk about it?” he then asked, putting his paw on her back.

Judy just fell into him and began to sob. “I’m scared, Nick. He actually terrifies me,” she cried into his shoulder, “I’m more scared than I was when Mr. Monchez was chasing us! Or even when Mr. Big was gonna ice us. At least then I knew how we were going to die those times. This time…I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“It’s okay, Jude. You’re safe now,” Nick cooed, stroking her ears. Judy sighed shakily. “Let’s get you to my place,” Nick then suggested.

“Sounds good. I’m already packed,” came Judy’s muffled reply, as she still had her face buried in his neck.

“Okay, what’re we waiting for? Let’s go!” Nick said, putting Judy down, then moving towards the door.

Judy, however, heard a noise outside her door. “Wait!” she called in a hoarse whisper.

Nick got the memo to whisper: “What?” he asked.

“He’s here! We need to climb out the window!” Judy replied, still whispering. They were on the first story of the apartment building, allowing for easy window access.

“Gideon? He’s here?!” Nick asked, still whispering.

“That voice! It’s Gid’s all right! And Travis is with him! I think I also heard gunshots coming from the lobby!” Judy whispered hoarsely.

“Go! I’ll stall for you,” Nick whispered.

“No! Don’t! He’ll be able to smell me all over the apartment! He’ll see right through your lies! He may be crazy, but he’s not stupid!”

“Okay, climb out the window, I’ll be right behind you. I’ve just got to grab your stuff,” Nick said in a whisper.

“It’s all in the duffle bag. I’ve got it,” Judy replied in a whisper.

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Then let’s go!”

They climbed out the window, then Judy tapped on another window that was next to hers, and it opened. Nick saw a male oryx lean out the window, and Judy told him, “I’m leaving.”

“We’re coming with,” he said.

“I was just going to ask that you do,” Judy said, “the more mammals protecting me, the better. And you guys are the only mammals I trust other than Nick.”

“Bucky!” the oryx called.

“Yes Pronk?” a voice replied.

“You all packed?”

“Yup.”

“Good, Carrots is ready to go, so we have to be, too,” the oryx said.

“Hey! No-one calls her carrots, except me!” Nick yelled.

“It’s okay Nick. I _asked_ them to refer to me as that,” Judy explained.

“Oh, okay. Sorry guys, I thought you were picking on her,” Nick apologized.

“No worries. So you’re the famous Nick we’ve heard so much about,” the oryx said, stepping out of the window. After him came a male kudu.

“Yup,” Nick said.

“Guys? Hate to break up the introductions, but we really need to hurry,” Judy said.

“Oh, yeah, Gideon’s coming,” Nick said, then called out to the oryx and kudu: “Let’s go before he spots us!”

“Yes sir!” the kudu and oryx replied. The four strode to the cop car and slid in. Nick was in the driver’s seat, Judy was shotgun, and the oryx and kudu were in back.

“By the way, who are you?” Nick asked the two mammals in the back as he started driving.

“Oh, Nick, these are my neighbors, Bucky and Pronk Oryx-Antlerson. Bucky’s the kudu, Pronk’s the oryx. Bucky and Pronk, Nick,” Judy explained.

“Hello guys. So…you two are married?”

“How’d you know?” Bucky asked.

“You both have the same last names, but are different species,” Nick explained.

“Well, we’ve got a real smart cookie. Nothing gets past you!” Pronk congratulated.


	7. Gideon Grey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our first look at the sociopathic fox known as Gideon Grey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the shortest chapter in all of the story.

## Date: 5/28/2017

## Time: 8:00 A.M. ZT

## Location: Judy’s apartment

Meanwhile, in Judy’s apartment, Gideon kicked in the door…and found nobody. He kicked a chair and screamed out in frustration, because his quarry- no, his prey, had eluded him once again.

“Find her! Find that fucking rabbit and kill her! And don’t come back ‘till she’s in front of me **_ON A MOTHER FUCKING DINNER PLATE!_** ” he screamed at his two main henchmammals, a wolf named Travis, and a badger named Roy.

“Yes sir!” They exclaimed in unison. They then started searching the entire building and the surrounding complex. Any prey they found was mauled to death, and any predator was spared. Afterwards, they came back to Gideon and told him the news…they couldn’t find Judy Hopps.

“FUCK! _FUCK!_ **_FUCK!_ ** ” he screamed, stomping his foot, “How the fuck did she get away?!”

“Well, the apartment next door was empty, too,” Roy said

“Are you saying she had help from her neighbors?” Gideon spat.

“That’s what we think,” Travis piped up.

“Find her…and kill her.” Gideon actually growled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty sure that I read somewhere that Travis was a wolf in the movie, and not a weasel, although he does look a lot like a weasel.


	8. Judy's plan

##  Date: 5/28/2017

##  Time: 8:00 A.M. ZT

##  Location: ZPD police cruiser on I-80

Back in the police car that Nick was driving, Nick asked: “So, Judy…where to?”

“Bunnyburrow. We have to evacuate my family. Since Gideon can’t find me, and he knows I’m alive, he’ll try to hold them hostage to lure me into rescuing them…and getting myself captured,” Judy explained.

“Good plan, evacuating your family,” Nick said.

“Thanks,” Judy said.

“By the way, how did you know when I was done reading the letter yesterday?” Nick wondered.

“You mumble when you read,” Judy answered.

“Oh. And on that same topic, did you write that letter  _ after _ you were declared dead?” Nick wondered.

“What gave it away?”

“The line that reads, ‘It wasn’t your fault. It was Bellwether’s fault. She turned you to savagery.’ It’s physically impossible to know how you died…unless that death was fake, which it was, obviously. Why’d you put that line in, anyway?”

“I purposely dropped that line in there so that it would foreshadow that I wasn’t dead and therefore hopefully decrease the shock factor, so you wouldn’t pass out,” Judy explained.

“On that note, don’t you  _ ever _ fake your death again without telling me first. I contemplated suicide on multiple occasions because I thought I had killed the one mammal I love…and therefore didn’t deserve to live,” Nick explained, tears running down his cheeks. “But I didn’t kill her,” he then said, staring right into Judy’s eyes, “so therefore I deserve to live.” He then gave a small smile and kissed her.

“Wow, Nick, that’s deep,” Judy said, leaning into him. This leaning caused Nick to lay his arm across her shoulders.

“Those two are totally made for each other,” Pronk said.

“Yeah, for once I completely agree,” Bucky replied. The four rode like that all the way to Bunnyburrow. Bucky and Pronk talking about some random-ass shit in the back (like what if Zebrabrine from Zoocraft was real?), then arguing about it, and Judy leaning against Nick.

When they got to Bunnyburrow, Judy had Bucky and Pronk wait in the car while she and Nick went inside.

“So, Nick, I need you to tell them I’m alive for me. I can’t just walk in there and tell them myself, otherwise they’ll probably have a literal heart attack. Hearing it from you will hopefully decrease the shock factor. However, they might get mad at you for telling them that I’m alive, because they’ll think you’re lying…until I ‘walk in’ on your conversation,” Judy explained, using finger quotes on the words “walk in.”

“Where will they be?” Nick asked.

“Probably in the kitchen. This is around dinner time for them. I’ll take you there,” Judy explained.

“Cool, thanks,” Nick said.

They snuck to the kitchen, where Bonnie and Stu were indeed preparing dinner, and Nick strode in.

“Hi, Nick. We told you before, all is forgiven. There’s no need to apologize,” Bonnie said.

“I’m not apologizing. I have to tell you something,” Nick explained.


	9. The Reveal

## Date: 5/28/2017

## Time: 4:00 P.M. ZT, 6:00 P.M. BBT (Bunnyburrow Time)

## Location: Hopps residence

“What do you have to say?” Bonnie asked.

“You may want to sit down for this,” Nick said.

So Bonnie and Stu each took a chair and sat in it, after which Bonnie demanded, “Well?” There was no hint of malice, just confusion.

Nick took a deep breath, and said, “She’s back.”

“Who’s back?” Stu demanded in the same confused tone as Bonnie.

“Judy,” Nick answered, causing him to get slapped by Bonnie.

“How could you?! Judy was our little angel, and you mean to tell us that she’s alive?! Why?! Is this some sort of sick little jo-” Bonnie stopped mid-word, and her eyes went wide as saucers, causing Nick to turn around. Behind him, in the doorway, was Judy.

“Hi Mom, hi Dad,” Judy simply said, causing Bonnie and Stu to come out of their stupor and rush to her, almost tripping over their own feet in the process. Bonnie got to Judy first and lifted her up. “Judy! It’s really you! You’re okay!” Bonnie exclaimed, spinning around with Judy in her arms.

“How?! How is this possible?!” Stu wondered, still shocked.

“Okay, okay. Put me down and I’ll explain everything,” Judy said.

“So…how were you resurrected?” Bonnie asked.

“Easy. I never died. My death? It was totally faked. Nick did actually go savage…like I wanted, but he didn’t kill me, unfortunately. Fortunately, I was able to convince everyone I was dead, except for the one mammal I was trying to convince, Gideon. He’s the reason I’m here, actually.”

“This has something to do with the threat, doesn’t it?” Bonnie asked worriedly.

“Yes. Gid’s coming. And he’s going to hold everyone hostage. We need to evacuate the _entire_ warren. Get everyone to the auditorium, stat.”

“Okay, but why’d you fake your death?”

“All will be explained at the meeting. By the way, don’t tell them who the speaker is. I want it to be a surprise.”

“Oh, okay,” Bonnie said.


	10. The Meeting

## Date: 5/28/2017

## Time: 8:00 P.M. BBT

## Location: Hopps auditorium

Two hours later, everyone was gathered in the Hopps auditorium. Including Bucky and Pronk, who were introduced to Judy’s parents after Judy revealed she was still alive.

“Thank you all for coming,” Bonnie said into the microphone, “Now, before I turn things over to our main speaker, I just wanted to say a few things. A few things. There, I said it.” This got a few laughs. “Now to turn things over to our main speaker, who didn’t want her name mentioned. But I assure you, you know her very well.” Bonnie then walked off stage, and out came…Judy. The crowd became so quiet that you could hear the pit-pat of her feet as she grimly strode across the stage to the microphone.

“Hey guys. I’m sorry it’s been so long,” Judy said forlornly. “You may be wondering what I’m doing here, as I’m supposed to be dead.” The sea of heads and ears nodded. “Well, obviously, I’m not. I merely faked my death to protect you guys from Gideon. But he found out that I’m alive, and that’s why I’m here. He’s after me, and plans to use you as bait to kill me, by holding you hostage. Under your seats are plane tickets to Japan. That’s our cover. We need to leave. Gideon _will_ kill us all if we don’t. I’ve already made arrangements with Zootopian Airlines and the Zootopian military to get us out. Zootopian Airlines was able to reserve a Airbus A340-300 for us and the Zootopian Air Force will have twenty-six Harriers flying cover for us. As you can tell, it’s not just the cops who want him in Zootopia Bay, or even just the ZBI. The military wants him there, too. And they want us, as in me and you guys, to be alive. Which is why they’re paying the airline to get us out of the country asap. Any questions?”

A paw shot up.

“Yes?” Judy asked.

“What do you mean by ‘That’s our cover?’” a male voice asked.

“What I mean is, I’ve gone through some satellite photos looking for a Pacific Island big enough to fit all of us, and I found one. _We_ are going to fake our deaths in a ‘plane crash’,” she said, making finger quotes around the words “plane crash.”

“A plane crash? How do you fake that?” a female voice asked.

“The crash will be real, but everyone will survive. I have faith in Bucky and Pronk’s flying abilities. They had to crash on purpose as part of their fighter and commercial pilot training,” Judy explained. “They can literally fly anything, which is why they’re going to be our pilots.”

Another paw went up.

“Yes?” Judy asked again.

“Judy? Is it really you?” another female voice asked.

“Yes, it’s really-wait…was that Jill’s voice?”

At that, a female rabbit hopped out into the aisle and bum-rushed Judy, while screaming, “ **_JUDY_**!” And then Judy got tackled by said rabbit.

“Oof!” Judy said, then she started laughing. “Oh, Jill, miss me much?”

“Well,” Jill said, standing up, then helping Judy up, “you are my only littermate.” At that, the audience really started their Q&A session: “Did he actually go savage?” “What did it feel like?” “Were you scared?”

“Okay-okay, one at a time, please!” Judy yelled over the din. Another rabbit raised their paw.

“Yes?” Judy asked.

“What was it like? Were you scared?” a young male voice asked.

“For most rabbits, that would’ve been a very scary situation. But for me? I actually felt at peace. It was also kind of a... turn... on...? for me. If you watch the security videos at the museum, you’ll hear a scream. That was me. But it was forced. I actually wanted to die at that moment, not just because death by Nick would’ve been quicker than death by Gideon, but also for your safety. And, before you ask, yes, Nick was savage.”

At that, another paw shot up.

“Yes?”

“How did you survive?”

“You know, I’m actually not sure,” Judy answered. “No more questions. We need to start packing for our trip.”


End file.
